[1] No Ichiro on that list? I know he's not a priority need, but I wouldn't dismiss him that easily, especially since he's officially waiting his turn and the alternatives are fairly mediocre or far more overpriced.

After that, I have no clue how they get a decent bench that doesn't double as an old folks home. Seems like if a rookie isn't batting over .300 or has at least has 20 homers by all-star break, he's anathema to the big club.

[5] I'm not dismissing him, but at best, he's a good platoon/4th OFer option. Pair him with a decent RH OF bat, and that might be Swisher's replacement. There just isn't any tasty FA out there. I'm guessing Cashman will try a trade.

The Yanks should offer Martin something like 3/$24m, which should do it.

Holy Shit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
How could this happen????http://riveraveblues.com/
Rosenthal: Pirates to sign Russell Martin
By Mike Axisa
8:40pm: David Waldstein says it’s a two-year, $17M deal. Hard to believe the Yankees didn’t match that. Jon Heyman says they only offered two years at $12-14M.

I think it will be very hard to trade for a corner OF. The Red Sox need one. Actually, they need two.

I kind of wish we'd signed Russell up for another stint, but the fact is that he's a weak hitter who is likely to get weaker, a 29 year old catcher, most likely in decline. I wouldn't commit to a lot of Mike Napoli either -- he's 30.